A temporal investigation of the direct,interactive, and reverse relations between demand and control and affective strain

Abstract

Few studies have tested how stressors affect outcomes over time. We sought to extend the literature by means of a longitudinal study testing for direct, interactive, and causal relations between demands and control and affective strain. We extended prior work testing causal relationships for Karasek's (1979 Karasek, R.A. Jr. 1979. Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24: 285–307. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Job Demand-Control (JDC) model by examining both the effects of demands and control on strain and in turn the effects of strain on demand and control. We tested our hypotheses using hierarchical linear modelling with a military sample of 1539 soldiers who completed six waves of survey data at 3-month time lags. The results replicate earlier cross-sectional studies reporting effects of work characteristics on strain; however, in our study these effects did not persist past three months. The results also provide evidence for reverse causal effects such that higher strain was associated with higher subsequent work overload and lower control over a six month time period. Similar to past research, we did not find support for the interactive effects of work overload and control on strain. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice (such as the optimum time for applying interventions during the management of change), especially in terms of understanding the specific time lags for different stress–strain associations and the need for additional theories to explain reverse relationships.     

沙棘酒优良酵母菌种的分离筛选及应用

以辽宁省建平县沙棘为材料,对沙棘酿酒酵母菌种进行筛选与试用。从沙棘野生酵母中分离筛选出8792号酵母菌株,在 pH2.8～3.0仍能进行发酵,还具有抗 SO_2、耐酒精度高、发酵残糖低。用以发酵沙棘酒,在25～28℃条件下发酵速度最快,凝聚性强,制成的酒具有沙棘的典型风味。     

“贵古贱今”辩

"贵古贱今"是与诗学有关的古代文论概念,是对于复古文风的批评与概括。在文艺批评及文艺创作领域中,自古就存在着"贵古贱今"的观念,在古代中国和西方,人们深受"贵古贱今"传统心理的影响,总是以是否有"古"意来衡量文艺作品的高下。文艺批评家看到了这种观念的存在,积极展开对"贵古贱今"观念的批判。这种观念的产生以及存在既与文艺批评和文艺创作主体人格有关,这包括文人道德修养、文人的尚古情结、距离产生美感的心理作用,也不能脱离时代背景等其它条件的限制。"贵古贱今"观念的存在对文艺批评与文艺创作产生了潜移默化的影响,当代文艺批评既不能一味贵古,也不能一味贱今。     

Challenges of Dealing with Financial Concerns during Life-Threatening Illness: Perspectives of Health Care Practitioners

ABSTRACT

The costs of serious medical illness and end of life care are often a heavy burden for patients and families (Collins, Stepanczuk, Williams, & Rich, 2016 Collins, A., Stepanczuk, C., Williams, N., & Rich, E. (2016). Supporting better patient decisions at the point of care: What payers and delivery systems can do (Mathematica Policy Research Issue Brief). Retrieved from http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/mprmprres/6c6a86e28d7149c993713352eeceaa18.htm [Google Scholar]; Kim, 2007 Kim, P. (2007). Cost of cancer care: The patient perspective. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25(2), 228–232. doi:10.1200/JCO.2006.07.9111[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; May et al., 2014 May, C. R., Eton, D. T., Boehmer, K., Gallacher, K., Hunt, K., MacDonald, S.,?… &?Rogers, A. E. (2014). Rethinking the patient: Using burden of treatment theory to understand the changing dynamics of illness. BMC health services research, 14(1), 1–11. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-281[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]; Zarit, 2004 Zarit, S. H. (2004). Family care and burden at the end of life. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 170(12), 1811–1812. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1040196[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Twenty-six practitioners, including social workers, managers/administrators, supervisors, and case managers from five health care settings, participated in qualitative semistructured interviews about financial challenges patients encountered. Seven practitioners took part in a focus group. Practitioners were recruited from hospice (n?=?5), long-term care (n?=?5), intensive care (n?=?5), dialysis (n?=?6), and oncology (n?=?5). Interview and focus group questions focused on financial challenges patients encountered when facing life-threatening illness. Interview data were transcribed and thematically coded and trustworthiness of data was established with peer debriefing, member checking, and agreement on themes among the authors. Practitioners described interacting micro, meso, and macroinfluences on the financial well-being and challenges patients encountered. Microlevel influences involved patient characteristics, such as their demographic profile and/or health status that set them up for financial aptitude or challenges. Macrolevel influences involved the larger health care/safety net system, which provided valuable resources for some patients but not others. Practitioners also discussed the mesolevel of influence, the local setting where they worked to match available resources with patients’ individual needs given the constraints emerging from the micro and macrolevels. Practitioners described how they navigated the interplay of these three areas to meet patients’ needs and cope with financial challenges. Implications for practice point to directly addressing the kind of financial concerns that patients and families facing financial burden from serious medical illness have, and identifying ways to bridge knowledge and resource access gaps at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.     

社会变迁过程中的结构紧张

伴随着制度变迁进行的结构性调整与创新,带来了不同利益群体之间的矛盾与冲突,这种矛盾与冲突引发的许多问题可归结为＂结构紧张＂产生的张力所致,＂失范＂状态就是一种典型的结构性问题。以调查数据为依据,分析、检验结构紧张与失范之间的关系,发现社会地位结构、组织结构、角色结构、权力地位结构、收入水平与教育水平结构上的差异与分化确实导致了失范感受的产生。诸如个体的失范、不满意度、相对剥夺感、地位不一致等负面感受很大程度正是缘于客观的结构分化快于制度整合而引起的失衡与紧张。     

一株纤维素高产菌株的选育及其鉴定

细菌纤维素具有高结晶度、生物可降解性和合成可调控性等优良特性，被公认是一种性能最好的纤维素，广泛应用于食品、医学、造纸、声学等领域。实验室自制荞麦醋自然放置一段时间，液面上长出厚厚的凝胶状膜，经成分分析，确定其为纤维素，结晶度为78%，Iα型纤维素含量为60%。取该荞麦醋的醪液，经富集、分离、初筛和复筛等，最终从108个单菌落中筛选出1株性能稳定的纤维素高产菌株J2，纤维素产量可达87.62 g/L（湿重）。通过形态学与基于16S rRNA序列的分子生物学鉴定，确定菌株J2为汉森氏葡糖醋杆菌（Gluconacetobacter hansenii，GenBank登录号为GU213109）。     

Rationalization in garages in the Netherlands and its effects on occupational health

In this study, various hypotheses were tested in relation to car mechanics working in a sample of domestic car garages in South Limburg, The Netherlands. These concerned the negative relationships between the degree of control over the work process, and occupational strain, blood pressure, skin disorders and problems in the locomotor system. The relevant intermediate variables used were task latitude, social support from supervisor and colleagues, and positive appreciation (which were expected to weaken the major hypothesized relationships), and time pressure, mental load, and involuntary task interruption (which were expected to strengthen the major hypothesized relationships). The analysis also included the possible effects of age and seniority. Controls based on craft methods, blood pressure and skin disorders were measured through observation. The effect of controls based on craft methods, and occupational strain were demonstrated. Effects were also shown of occupational strain on diastolic blood pressure and on problems in the locomotor system, and of positive appreciation on non-contact skin disorder.     

About Ending

No abstract available for this article.     

Perceived overload as a predictor of physical strain among spousal and adult child caregivers of frail elders in the community

ABSTRACT

Family caregivers of frail elders can experience physical strain associated with caregiving. Identifying correlates of caregiver strain can provide an important impetus for tackling the causes and providing effective interventions. Utilizing data from the 1999 National Long-Term Care Survey, the current study examined correlates of caregiver physical strain among 956 family caregivers, using the stress process model. As multiple regression analyses indicated, the caregiver’s perceived overload predicted greater strain for both spousal and adult child caregivers. For both groups, common correlates of physical strain were caregiving demands, the caregiver’s perceived overload, and limitations placed on the caregiver’s life. The results demonstrate that the family relationship of the caregiver (spouse or adult child) leads to variations and dynamics in caregiver strains, due to qualitatively different relationships.     

Emotional Strain in Caregiving Among African American Grandmothers Raising Their Grandchildren

African Americans are disproportionately represented in the number of grandparents raising their grandchildren. Using Role Strain Theory and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, this study examines how older grandmothers fare relative to their younger counterparts. Eighty-five custodial African American grandmothers, aged 33–88 years old, completed demographic questionnaires and scales of Role Demand, Emotional Strain, Caregiving Strain Index, and Level of Care. Results showed older grandmothers experienced less emotional and caregiving strain relative to younger grandmothers. Furthermore, married grandmothers experienced less caregiving strain, and their age did not insulate them from the strain associated with the level of care. Implications are discussed.